How does medicine work? how does it know what to fix or heal if you have...

[kaNIcKY]

...muiltiple symptoms? If you have a headache, and u take a Tylenol that cures tooth aches, muscle aches, cold symptoms, headaches etc...how does it fix ur headache? and Is the liquid medicine more effective than a pill? or vice versa?

[Kim K]

As far any medicine knowing what the problem is, it doesn't. It does what it does whether you need it or not. This is why they are finally splitting meds up. I remember when it was hard to find a cough syrup that wasn't also an antihistimine, expectorant and decongestant. If you needed one you had to take them all. The powers that be finally figured out that it wasn't a great idea to further dry your sinuses out with a decongestant if they were already too dry but you needed a cough supressant and that's when we began seeing Robotussin D,R M and X, Y, Z.
In the case of Tylenol, it works by elevating your pain threshold, not by pinpointing the site of the pain.
Liquid med will get into the bloodstream more quickly and in many medicines has a higher absorbtion rate than a pill. I'm not sure if this is applicable to ALL or only some. If it is all meds I don't understand why they are not available in liquid form. I suppose pills are more convenient, they don't have to be refrigerated, easier to carry one in your pocket for a later dose etc. I know vitamins are much more affective in liquid form because the pills have a tendency to pass through the intestines before the break down if they break down at all. A study was done that came to the conclusion that we only get a 90% benefit from the vitamin supplements we take for this very reason. I would give you a link but it's been several months since I read about it and wouldn't know how to find it again.

[Laura]

Tylenol is thought to relieve pain by raising your pain tolerance. It also is thought to lower your fever by helping your body eliminate excess heat.

It doesn't matter what form you take it in. The liquid is for people who find pills hard to swallow. The pill takes a little longer to work because it has to dissolve first.